When the young midfielder made his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his coach back then predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
This statement proved to be something of an understatement.
Now 22 years old and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the playmaker has just received his first call-up to the full Three Lions team.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to potential England player is a true blast from the past, a journey seldom seen in the modern game.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of becoming a professional football player, never mind playing in the top division and representing England too,” Scott stated in a recent interview.
“It has been a crazy five or six years of my life, and things have changed drastically for me and my family.”
So how did Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself at this level?
Developing in non-league
Scott’s path in football has been far from a typical one.
He was part of over four years in the Saints’ academy setup starting at eight, leaving school early each Friday to fly from his island home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could train and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to his 13th birthday, though, they released him. Bournemouth gave him an opportunity and he remained with them for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind was not in it.
Instead, he chose to stay on the island and turn out for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over every week was becoming a bit too much,” he explained.
“I just wanted to relax at home with my friends at weekends because I missed nearly several years of doing that. Getting that slice of youth back was a thing I really needed.
“To gain a bit of confidence by coming back and playing local football was massive for me. That proved to be perhaps one of the most important things that led me to this point.”
When he was just 16, the teenager made history as the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a second-half substitute in their Isthmian League match at the opposition.
“I had sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the team because his talent is obvious,” manager the coach commented back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the way he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Second-tier club Bristol City – owned by islander Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring his development after an impressive start in adult football and arranged a try-out in late 2019.
“It was hectic,” recalled the player. “Day one I joined the youth team, the second day I was with the first team, which was a total surprise.
“Midweek I featured for Guernsey FC in London, returned home and on the Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a hat-trick. From that point a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
Within 18 months, even well before his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut versus the Hatters.
He went on to make 83 league outings for the Robins while in his teens, often being deployed as a wide defender – and occasionally further forward as a attacking midfielder – such was his adaptability and flexibility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
Thanks to his ability to carry the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and national team attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the EFL Championship’s best young player award, was selected in the division’s best XI and was voted Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I believe he will represent his country and I’m sure he will progress to the top of the sport,” his former manager, the player’s manager at the club, stated last year.
Less than three months after, he signed for the Cherries for a reported transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his big move
The midfielder endured a difficult debut campaign with the club, having to wait until the autumn to earn his top-flight debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then being inconsistent of the starting XI.
His second campaign was just as disrupted, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for nearly several months.
“I had quite a good run at the close of last season, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained Scott.
“It was yet another setback and the year was turning out to be quite a terrible year for the first half.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in regain fitness for the tournament.
He started five of the England U21s’ six matches as they went on to win the tournament in Slovakia, forming a strong partnership in midfield with his teammate, who himself has gone on to impress for the first team under the national coach.
And he has begun the current campaign equally as strongly for his club, featuring in all matches to help them to the top five in the standings.
“Representing the England senior team would be one of the proudest moments of my life,” Scott stated earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I must continue developing as a player, maintain my love for the game, improving every day, and with luck I catch the eye of the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
